Horizon Health employees will get surgical masks to wear at work

Horizon Health Network will provide its employees with surgical masks to wear at work when it's not possible to distance themselves from others, according to a memo sent to staff and physicians.

The new directive from Horizon, issued Thursday, comes after Shannex told its employees they'd be required to wear non-medical masks at work. Shannex operates retirement and long-term care homes in New Brunswick, as well as in two other provinces.

"Effective April 9, Horizon will begin providing two masks to every employee and physician upon completion of their initial screening into their facility," Horizon Health's chief human resource officer, Maura McKinnon, said in the memo.

"These procedural masks are to be used by staff and physicians in circumstances when it is not possible to maintain proper social distance."

McKinnon didn't provide an example of a circumstance where staff should wear surgical masks, which can also be called procedural masks.

But health care is a hands-on profession and it can be difficult for people who work in the field to always keep their distance from patients,according to Paula Doucet, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.

"Even in my experience as a registered nurse, when you are providing care, it is very difficult to do that from six feet or two metres away from a patient," Doucet said.

"Registered nurses, every day, invade the personal space of the patient they're caring for."

Hospital employees will get surgical masks first

The surgical or procedural masks that Horizon will give employees differ from thehigher-grade N95 respirator, which is "a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles," according to Health Canada.

N95s are only supposed to be used in situations where a higher level of personal protective equipment is required, so the province doesn't exhaust its supply.

"If you are providing care to a patient whose treatment plan requires the use of personal protective equipment, you are still required to follow the processes established by infection, prevention and control," McKinnon said in the memo.

"The procedural masks provided upon entry to the facility are not to be used for these purposes."

She also said employees must still practise physical distancing and have good "respiratory etiquette" and hand hygiene.

The surgical masks will be provided to employees working in hospitals first.

"We are working to ensure that employees in our community sites receive their masks in the coming days," McKinnon said in the memo.

Community sites include facilities likeregional public health offices andaddiction and mental health centres such as Ridgewood Addiction Services in Saint John.

Some nursing homes in the province arelooking at "encouraging employees to wear homemade masks, if they have them," according to Doucet.

"They are also looking at their availability of non-procedural masks for their employees," she said.

A spokesperson forVitalitHealth Network says it is studying the issue.

Homemade masks have limitations

The new directives from both Shannex and Horizon come as guidance has shifted around whether people should wear masks.

The country's chief public health officer has said wearing a mask won't protect the person wearing it, but could be helpful in preventing the spread of infection to people around them.

She has used grocery shopping as an example of a time when it may be helpful to wear a non-medical mask, such asa homemade mask or face-covering.

Medical-grademasks, including N95 respirators and surgical masks, should be saved for health care professionals, public health officials have said.

And while homemade masks can be helpful, they have many limitations.

"Homemade masks are not medical devices, and consequently, are not regulated like medical masks and respirators," Health Canada says.

That means homemade masks haven't "been tested to recognized standards" and "may not provide complete protection against virus-sized particles."

The edges of a homemade mask may also not be "designated to form a seal around the nose and mouth," Health Canada says, and the fabrics used could be difficult to breathe through, making it hard to get the required amount of oxygen.